Our journey began in Port Barton by catching the Lion King jeepney to a town called Roxas.
An interesting ride, but not quite as cramped as it looks.
The road to Port Barton is notorious for being rough. The past couple of days had been sunny (it gets really bad when it rains for a stretch), so it wasn't so bad, but there were still a few mucky patches. Things seemed to be going fine until . . . . . . .
. . . . . we came across this scene. (I love the guy on the side who seems to be saying "What the f@$# do we do now" or in Cebuano (not sure if it's also a Tagalog term "naboo ung!")
I took to the streets to check out the action.
Before B-Rod came down to check it out, he had a glance atop the Lion King. It didn't actually take as long as I thought it would to get the truck out, and we were on our way just barely making it through the mud pit ourselves. Once we got to Roxas, people tried to sell us on the van option to El Nido. Having taken the van before, I knew how packed and uncomfortable it was, so we opted for the bus (plus we love taking the bus in other countries)
We got the last two single seats on the bus. On our way on we got some ice cream. B-Rod got the ice cream sandwhich which is literally an ice cream sandwhich - ice cream in a bun.
I had the seat up front along with these boxes full of chickens!
The last time I had gone to El Nido I must have ended up on a different bus because this one was packed to the gills. No seats? No problem. Standing room is available. We seemed to stop at many random places and we'd pull up to places with 30 people waiting. Didn't matter. If they could squeeze on, they could come. It actually wasn't too bad until about the last 30 minutes where I just needed to get off that freakin bus!! It was a 150 km journey that took 6.5 hours. The bus was called a "Cherry ordinary fare" bus. We found out along the way that there is also a "Cherry aircon fare" bus. We passed a few along the way and it was slightly bigger with fewer people on board. I'm not a fan of airconditioning, but we are definitely splurging and paying the extra $2.5 to take that bus on the way back!
In the end the journey was worth it. We got to El Nido, took a trike to "the junction" (our hotel is slightly out of town (10 min walk) and the trikes can't get there), got to our hotel and were greeted with this view from our balcony.
B chilling out in the hammock, though he was/is slightly concerned that there is a big bunch of coconuts conveniently placed right above him (why don't people use their coconuts here!!)
Our walk into town
Welcome to El Nido!!
I told B about this restaurant I had gone to that had really good falafels (they also have a weird "mascot" for some reason, I was able to find it and B-Rod raves they are the best falafels he has EVER had!!
B-Rod doing what he does best (making friends) and comparing falafel experiences.
If you are ever in El Nido, this is definitely one to check out!!
Day 1 - Island Hopping
There are 4 island hopping tours you can take in El Nido (Tour A, B, C & D). Last year at this time ; ) I went on tour A. Tour A and C are supposed to be the most interesting ones, so tour C it was.
Island hopping is the thing to do in El Nido, and it with the amazing scenery around, it would be ridiculous not to! Basiically, it's a day spent on a boat, going to different islands and beaches, seeing some sights, having a picnic on the beach and snorkelling.
Can you spot B-Rod?
Lunch time!
Can you see B-Rod starting to turn red?
I'm a bit smarter and have a rash guard on (in B's defense, I don't do it to protect myself from the sun. I usually end up with a rash guard because I get cold. Yes . . . . I get cold in water that is 27-30 degrees!! I am part Filipino and am learning that us Flips get cold easily!!)
That evening, we were walking around town and B decided it would be a good idea to get a massage. So we found a spot, settled in and spent an hour relaxing . . . . or I did anyways. B-Rod had underestimated the extent of his back burn and spent the next hour in agonizing pain as she worked on his back. I don't think he'll be getting anymore massages on this trip!
Day 2 - Our first recreational dive
Through our dive instructor, we got a recommendation for a dive shop here in town,and they were already expecting us and knew us by name as we walked in the door. There are around 30 of them here, so it was nice that we just had one to go to and didn't need to waste time shopping around. We decided to go for 2 dives and a picnic lunch on the beach. It was AMAZING and so much fun. We've both taken to diving, and it's kind of nice that we have finally found a hobby we can do together!! We saw so many things including a big school of yellow tail snappers tightly organized into a ball around 15 feet in diametre, a couple sting rays, a moray eel, a yellow ribbon eel, beautiful, bright sea slugs, and B and our dive master saw an octopus. We were on the dive with a British guy whose done 26 dives. He's an advanced diver, so he had his own dive master and dove deeper than us, but he said it's the best dive he's done in a long time. That was nice to hear.
Getting set up and ready to go
Rocky first! We learned the roll back entry which we hadn't done in our dive course.
B-Rod's turn!
Our lunch spot . . . . Wow!!
Yeah!! We completed dive 5 & 6 : )
In the evening, we headed to another beach just outside of town which is famous for its sunsets.
The path towards the beach
This isn't even the spot. This is the walk towards the sunset spot!
This is the spot where we sat while we waited. We even managed to send off a few sea mails. Heheh.
Sitting on the beach and using the Filipino "point" to show where the sunset will be.
Wow!! A pretty good end to a pretty incredible day.